No individual food is inherently healthy or unhealthy on its own. What matters is how much you're eating, how often, and the context of your overall diet. Even a typically "healthy" food like watermelon can work against someone's specific needs in the wrong context, while an occasional "unhealthy" food fits fine within an overall balanced diet.
When you start labeling foods as healthy or unhealthy, inflammatory or non-inflammatory, any black-and-white label placed on an individual food, you're misrepresenting how nutrition actually works. Dr. Adrian Chavez makes the case for why no single food deserves that kind of absolute label.
The Watermelon Example
A large serving of watermelon after intense exercise, one of the healthiest recovery choices someone could make.
That same watermelon, eaten by someone with diabetes who already overate, causing a dramatic blood sugar spike.
Same food, dramatically different outcomes, depending entirely on context. This is exactly why blanket labels like "healthy" or "unhealthy" fail to capture what actually matters in nutrition.
Is Processing Itself the Problem?
Dr. Chavez is clear that processing isn't inherently bad. The real issue is that many ultra-processed foods are specifically engineered to be extremely easy to overeat, packed with added oils, sugars, and flavorings designed to make you want more of them.
Processed foods are food-like products that are designed and created to sell a bunch of product to you, and they're not necessarily meant to meet your nutritional needs.
If a large share of your diet, say 30% or more, comes from these ultra-processed products, you're more likely to overeat calories while under-eating fiber and a wide variety of micronutrients. But that's a pattern-level concern about overall diet composition, not a reason to label any single processed food as inherently unhealthy.
What Should Actually Guide Your Food Choices
Rather than sorting foods into good and bad categories, Dr. Chavez recommends building most of your diet around minimally processed foods, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, eggs, and dairy, while allowing processed foods to fit in as well. Tracking calories for a period can help you understand your actual energy needs and micronutrient intake, giving you real data instead of moral judgments about specific foods.
Including some processed foods you genuinely enjoy can actually support long-term consistency, since total food restriction often backfires. The goal isn't zero processed food, it's making sure the majority of your intake comes from foods that help you meet your nutrient and energy needs.
- No individual food is inherently healthy or unhealthy, context and quantity always matter more than the food itself.
- Processing isn't inherently harmful, the concern is that many processed foods are engineered to be easy to overeat.
- Ultra-processed foods making up too large a share of your diet can crowd out fiber and micronutrient intake.
- Building most of your diet around minimally processed foods, while allowing some processed foods, supports both nutrition and consistency.
- Black-and-white food labels oversimplify nutrition and don't reflect how food actually functions in your overall diet.
The next time you catch yourself calling a food "bad," it's worth asking what role it's actually playing in your overall diet, rather than judging it in isolation. Context, not the food itself, is what determines whether it's working for you or against you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it true that there's no such thing as an unhealthy food?
Individual foods aren't inherently healthy or unhealthy in isolation. What matters is how much you're eating, how often, and in the context of your overall diet and nutritional needs. Even a food generally considered healthy can work against a specific person's needs in the wrong context.
Are processed foods automatically bad for you?
No, processing itself isn't inherently harmful. The concern is that many ultra-processed foods are engineered to be extremely easy to overeat and tend to be high in added sugar, oil, and sodium, which can lead to overconsumption and displaced nutrient needs if they make up too much of the diet.
How much of your diet can come from processed foods?
There's no universal number, but building the majority of your diet around minimally processed foods, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, while including some processed foods for enjoyment and consistency, tends to support meeting nutrient needs without excessive calorie intake.
Why do people label certain foods as good or bad in the first place?
Black-and-white labeling makes nutrition feel simpler and easier to follow, but it misrepresents how nutrition actually works, since context, quantity, and the rest of someone's diet always matter more than any single food in isolation.
Ready to Build a Body That Lasts?
Science-backed coaching for busy professionals over 40. Apply today for nutrition guidance built on context, not black-and-white rules.
Apply Now →